


Sleep like a Princess

by NeedTheDark



Category: The Blacklist (TV)
Genre: Agnes fic, Agnes is a toddler, Agnesgate if you squint, Cute, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, F/M, Fluff and Angst, Liz sees Agnes for the first time after waking, Lizzington - Freeform, Reddington looks after Agnes, Reddington loves them
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-11-18
Updated: 2017-11-18
Packaged: 2019-02-04 00:02:49
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,029
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12758991
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/NeedTheDark/pseuds/NeedTheDark
Summary: When Liz wakes up she is anxious to see her daughter, but how much has she changed? Will she even know her mom?"Of course she knows you” Reddington chuckled softly. “She comes with me to see you every day, sweetheart. We read to you together. I favor the classics, while she brings a more modern edge – The Noisy Farm Sound Book is a particular favorite. Come to think of it, I’m not sure I’ve completely forgiven Aram for that.”





	Sleep like a Princess

**Author's Note:**

> A rare piece of fluff from me to celebrate the wonderful winter finale.

Liz lay in the bed where she had woken after ten months, restless and frustrated that her muscles were so weak. Would she even be able to hold her daughter?

“It’s going to be fine” Reddington said softly from his chair by her bed, his tone warm and reassuring.

Liz turned to look at him, her blue eyes tired and apprehensive. “What if she doesn’t recognise me? What if she doesn’t know who I am? She was so little… It’s been nearly a _year_ ” she finished brokenly.

He raised his eyebrows gently in surprise. “Of course she knows you” he chuckled softly. “She comes with me to see you every day, sweetheart. We read to you together. I favor the classics, while she brings a more modern edge – The Noisy Farm Sound Book is a particular favorite. Come to think of it, I’m not sure I’ve completely forgiven Aram for that.”

Liz looked at him, her forehead creased with concern. “You brought her here every day? The tubes - that would have been frightening!”

Reddington reached for her hand and raised it to his lips, his thumb rubbing her palm in a gesture that was so unconscious that it seemed to Liz like it had become a habit.

“We look at pictures of you” he told her, swallowing. “Photographs of you smiling. Laughing. Holding Agnes as a baby. She knows who you were before.”

Liz’s chin crumpled but she nodded bravely, desperately trying to stave off tears. She didn’t want her daughter to see her cry.

Reddington rose from his seat, his manner almost excited. “May I bring her in? She’s _desperate_ to see you.”

Liz nodded, her thin fingers clutching the blanket nervously. Reddington paused, giving her foot a reassuring squeeze through the blanket before moving animatedly to the door. It occurred to Liz that he had a healthy energy about him that she had rarely seen before.

When he returned he was slightly bent over, holding the little girl’s hand and chattering with her as she walked excitedly into the room.

Liz gasped and her hand flew to cover her mouth, both laughing and crying as she saw her daughter walking. “Agnes” she sniffed with a smile.

“Mommy!” the little girl grinned and Reddington lifted her up to sit on the bed, where she promptly folded herself into Liz’s open arms.

“Hey baby” she breathed. “You got so big!”

Agnes looked up at her with her mother’s enormous blue eyes. “I’m very tall” she said earnestly, and Liz laughed, looking up at Reddington in wonder.

He stood a little way back from the bed smiling at mother and daughter together, his eyes unmistakeably shimmering. When Liz looked up at him he nodded, swallowing with a smile.

“I’ll give you two some time” he said softly.

Liz shook her head “No - stay” she smiled, looking back lovingly to her daughter.

Reddington blinked and exhaled a breath he seemed to have been holding. He sat back in his chair by the bed and watched as Agnes played with her mother’s hair, her fingers kneading Liz’s face gently and making her laugh again.

“Mommy?” she asked, her little nose wrinkled in a frown.

“Yes, baby?”

“Why were you asleep?”

Liz inhaled uncertainly, and she drew her daughter closer to her. “Well, what did Raymond tell you?”

To Liz’s surprise, Agnes smiled gleefully. “He said my mommy was sleeping like a princess!”

Liz looked up at Reddington, her lips parted in surprise. His eyes were wide, and if she wasn’t mistaken, his face had colored a little.

“What else did I say, Agnes?” he asked the little girl gently.

She paused, her lips pursed in thought. “That sometimes people need long sleeps to make them better… and that mommy will wake up when she’s ready.”

Reddington smiled proudly, his eyes creasing pleasantly as he looked adoringly at the child. “That’s right, sweetheart.”

Liz hugged her daughter to her. “I wanted to wake up and see you. I missed you so much, baby.”

The little girl nodded and yawned, curling herself sleepily against Liz’s chest.

Reddington canted his head affectionately. “She’s exhausted” he said quietly. “She was so excited about seeing her mother she’s quite worn out.”

“She’s amazing” Liz whispered.

“She is” Reddington agreed wistfully. “She has her mother’s fire.”

Liz smiled softly at him. “You’re wonderful with her.”

“Children are truly the most remarkable creatures” he said, quietly. “They live in a delightful space somewhere between reality, and a better, _just_ , and vibrant place. They make us strive to be the best versions of ourselves that we can be. To be part of that beautiful little girl’s life… I feel truly blessed” he told her, his voice heavy with emotion.  

He began to work his jaw, and despite his low tone and calm exterior Liz could tell that he was very anxious. “Elizabeth, I don’t know what your plans will be. But I wonder… if you might allow me to continue seeing her” he asked tightly.

Liz bent down to kiss her daughter’s head, observing the contours of her angelic face; the curve of her little nose, the dimple in her chin and the cupid’s bow of her mouth. She looked back to Reddington and something stirred in her memory, a fleeting feeling of recognition that was gone so quickly she couldn’t yet grasp it.

“I have a long way to go” she said slowly. “I’m going to need help. That is… If you don’t mind” she smiled gently.

A look of hope and wonder spread across Reddington’s face and he reached for her hand, bringing it to his lips again in a gesture that Liz now felt for sure that he had repeated every single day that she had been asleep.

She blinked sleepily at him, the weight of her daughter’s slumbering body warming her contentedly. “She’s not the only one who’s tired” Liz mumbled, looking down at Agnes.

Reddington squeezed her hand affectionately. “Sleep. We’ll be here when you wake up. Sleep, Lizzie.”

“Like a princess” Liz murmured with a mischievous smile as she closed her eyes.

Reddington took a deep breath and nodded. “Yes, sweetheart. Like a princess.”


End file.
